Action Alert! Help Pass the Medical Marijuana Bill in the Illinois Senate!

Ill.: Vote delayed; write a letter to the editor in support of medical marijuana

Dear Concerned Citizen:

It looks like the Senate floor vote on the medical marijuana bill will be pushed to next week, but we are gaining momentum every day and picking up new supporters as we go.

As you have no doubt seen, a lot of great news coverage and editorials have been generated over the last few weeks in support of the medical marijuana bill. The Chicago Sun Times editorialized in favor of the bill, the Chicago Tribune reported on clergy support, and former members of law enforcement have published letters in support of this legislation — click here and here to read them.

To keep this issue alive in the media and demonstrate to legislators that the public supports this legislation, please consider writing a letter to the editor (LTE) and submitting it to your local newspaper today.

Tips for writing and sending an LTE:

• Limit your letter to 150 - 200 words and stay on point. This is not the time to discuss recreational use, hemp, or other issues irrelevant to the medical use of marijuana.
• Try and submit your letter to the editor as soon as possible. The sooner you submit a letter in response to a recent publication the better your chance of it being published.
• Include your full name, hometown, and daytime telephone number at the end of your letter (they will not print your number, but do need it for verification purposes).
• Send the text of your letter in the body of the e-mail (many newspapers won't accept letters as attachments).

Keep an eye out for an alert next week updating you on the status of the bill. In the meantime, please forward this alert to others so they can call and write their senators in support of SB 1381. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project.

Sincerely,

Nathan Miller
Legislative Analyst
Marijuana Policy Project

Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper can be a great way to foster discussion about marijuana policy reform. While we have provided this list of talking points, we encourage you to write your own letter, as a personally-crafted message is often the most powerful.

Please submit your letter to only one paper — ideally, one close to you. You can visit this page to view a listing of newspapers in Illinois. We also have a few tips for writing an effective letter.

• Numerous prestigious medical organizations support legal medical marijuana access for the seriously ill, including the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the Illinois Nurses Association, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

• Medical marijuana is a popular issue. A November 2005 nationwide Gallup poll showed 78% of Americans "support making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering," and state medical marijuana initiatives have been repeatedly endorsed by voters.

• Studies have shown that marijuana relieves debilitating symptoms including nausea, appetite loss, and severe pain. It has been shown to increase the chances that HIV/AIDs and hepatitis C patients will stay on life-saving medications.

• Chemotherapy patients who are too nauseated to eat or swallow a pill should not have to fear arrest if they — and their doctors — find that smoking marijuana is the most effective means of treating their symptoms.

• Marijuana has never caused a single medically documented overdose death — unlike Tylenol, which causes about 500 overdose deaths a year in the U.S. alone.

• Many of the legal alternatives proposed by opponents of medical marijuana are too expensive, too addictive, and have too many side effects to be good medicine for all patients.

• Many otherwise illegal substances, such as Oxycontin and morphine, can legally be prescribed by doctors. The same should be true for marijuana, which is less dangerous and addictive than either of these substances.

• Our state should use tax money to prosecute violent crime, not punish medical marijuana users.

• Ultimately, the decision of what medicine is best for an illness should be left up to the patient and the doctor, not to police and prosecutors.
• This is not a partisan issue; it is a compassion issue.

• When they have their doctors' approval, patients should be able to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest and imprisonment.

Tips for writing an effective letter

1) Keep it short and simple
 
Papers generally won't print anything longer than 150-200 words. It's best to make one point well, rather than trying to make every point possible. By only making one point at a time, you save your other arguments for future letters.
 
2) Check your spelling and grammar
 
Not only are newspapers more likely to print a letter containing no errors, having a spelling or grammar mistake plays into the stereotypes embraced by the opposition. We'd be glad to look over your letter if you'd like.
 
3) Say only what you know is factually true
 
Science, math, and reason are on our side; there's no need to make false claims or exaggerations. If you are unsure, check our library or ask us.
 
4) If possible, respond to a recent story in a timely manner

Papers are generally more likely to publish letters that are in response to recent stories, especially letters than are submitted shortly after the stories were published.
 
 
Feel free to contact us if you'd like help with your letter.

who else can help try to contact NORML & others,..

i support bill 1381 medical mar.  i have spinealstinoss and rum. art. i take alot of phar. drugs and they always make me feel tired and out of it i have an electrical power unit in my back for pain it help about 20% of pain block the meds maybe 35% then i suffer so lets pass BILL 1381 PLEASE HELP US ITHAT ARE IN PAIN AND NEED HELP   iam 53 yrs old i need something that might help     thank you joe myrick

I support the medical mar. bill 1381 . I am 35 yrs old male on disablity for digenterive disc deases,depression,and partcailly blind . i was 22 when i had my first back sugery (disc removal) then 2 yrs later i had a discotomy another back surgery,then in 2004 i had a stick of dynamite blow up in my face loosing the whole left side of my face and eye. i have gone threw 12 operations to reconstruct my face and get a prosteic (fake eye). recently i was sick coughing alot a sharp pain shot across my back and down to the floor i went , i ended up in the hosptial in the ER con the pain taking care of by MORPHINE then sent to see the family Dr. within 3 days. I did he ordered a MRI of my lower back and the results came back as L2-L3 mild disc bulge and facet arthrosis to produce mild central canal stenosis.L3-L4 same as you just read.L4-L5 Broad disc bulge indents the thecal sac touching nerve roots within the lateral recess.No definite nerve root compression.probable previous hemilaminectomy on the right.L5-S1 Large left Subarticular zone and foraminal extrusion produces servere left lateral recess stenosis and probable nerve root impingement. there is also epidural fibrosis at this level which enhances.previous hemilaminectomy on the right. on top of finding 4 disc's which has to be removed and fused togther and the one steel plate on each side of my spine and screw the togther i get this also ..Mutiple ,indeterminate lesions within the kidneys. Consider complete characterization with renal CT of the abdomen and pelvis with and without intravenous contrast and without oral contrast. now what you just read was copied word for word from the report 10/26/09 . so now iam looking at 2 more surgerys . i have been on vicodine , norco, morphine,valiums for nerves ,soma for muscle relaxers all man made and could say i might have problems if the take me off the norco 10/325 and vicodine's 7.5/750 cause i have been on these meds for over 7 yrs and still live with pain and depression cause iam so young. I did have a Trucking Companay from 1999 to 2004 grossing over a million a yr. now i live for the next surgery and next refill on my prescriptions. and none of this is the treatment for drepression ethier. so i have more prescreption drugs i take.   mar.  is 100% natural plant a seed it grows not mixed with all the other stuff in the rx's drugs. PLEASE PASS THIS BILL SO I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND SOME COMFORT ZONE AND TRY TO ENJOY MY ONLY CHILD WHICH TURNED 4 NOV.19,2009

                                                                  TOM WITTENKELLER

i support bill 1381 medical marijuana

ive ot grand mal seizures and my medication doesnt work well at all. im on disability and dont want to get in troulble for fear of losing my housing among other things.!  liz  

Hello, my name is Jeffrey w Kennedy ia m Disabled. I suffer from very painful Neuropathy of the Feet & Legs. And failed Back Surgery and Depression, I live in Palm Beach County, Florida. I was arrested for trying to grow medical marijuana. On June 28th 2010 my Attorney Michael c Minardi will file a motion for the medical necessity defense. We our in search of medical experts and public support. if you or anyone you may know can help. Please contact me at kennedyjeffrey@bellsouth.net

Thank you,

Jeffrey w Kennedy

Here are a few links that patients can find help at:

Americans for Safe Access: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

NORML: http://www.norml.org/

Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/

Unfortunately, Florida is a lot like Illinois, a state where politicians talk more about liberty and freedom than they practice it.

A helpful medical cannabis link I came across this morning:

http://www.illinoisnorml.org/content/view/1077/129/

Im a 56 year old marine vet. I have spinal st. plus degerative disk des. I also have many implants. My neck is completly fused. Pain pills dont work, and I have been taking methadone with vicodin es. Im also taking anti inflamation meds and it doesnt work anymore! I have tried cannabis and it helps, alot!! It helps me to sleep and eat. My dr. gave me a script for marinol but it costs 380.dollars for 60 tablets!! I cant afford that on disabilty. I only make $870. amonth. Making it legal would help lots. thanks for letting me complain. Sgt. Bear

by F. Aaron Smith

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), based at the University of California, San Diego, published a report today summarizing the results of clinical trials studying medical marijuana’s efficacy in treating pain. The studies, funded by CMCR under the mandate of a 1999 legislative action, found that marijuana is particularly helpful in relieving pain associated with nerve damage and in treating the muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.

The summary CMCR presented to the California legislature today brings together data from 15 clinical studies – six of which have been published in respected medical journals.

In 2002, then-drug czar and rabid medical marijuana opponent, John Walters said, “The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is currently conducting scientific studies to determine the efficacy of marijuana in treating various ailments. Until that research is concluded, however, most of what the public hears from marijuana activists is little more than a compilation of anecdotes.”

Well, the proof is in. Now it’s time for Congress to bring federal medical marijuana policy into line with the science.

The full CMCR publication can be downloaded, here.

Marijuana Policy Project

by Mike Meno

Great news from the great state of Iowa: Today the state’s Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to recommend to lawmakers that the state reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug and create a task force to study the possible implementation of medical marijuana in the state.

This recommendation puts Iowa one step closer to enacting a medical marijuana law, as its own officials have now definitively recognized marijuana as a medicine. The Iowa House and Senate are each considering bills that would protect from arrest chronically ill patients who use marijuana to alleviate their conditions, but the bills missed deadlines that would have allowed them to be enacted this year. Fortunately, this recommendation from the Board of Pharmacy will put increased pressure on lawmakers to pass a law in the next session.

A Des Moines Register poll released yesterday found that 64% of Iowans support patients’ use of medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

Keep checking MPP’s blog and our Iowa state page for the latest developments.

Marijuana Policy Project

Victoria Colliver,Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The first U.S. clinical trials in more than 20 years on the medical efficacy of marijuana found that pot helps relieve pain and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and certain neurological conditions, according to a report released Wednesday by a UC research center.

The results of five state-funded scientific clinical trials came 14 years after California voters passed a law approving marijuana for medical use and more than 10 years after the state Legislature passed a law that created the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego, which conducted the studies.

Dr. Igor Grant, a UC San Diego psychiatrist who directs the center, called the report "good evidence" that marijuana would be an effective front-line treatment for neuropathy, a condition that can cause tingling, numbness and pain.

"We focused on illnesses where current medical treatment does not provide adequate relief or coverage of symptoms," Grant said. "These findings provide a strong science-based context in which policymakers and the public can begin discussing the place of cannabis in medical care."

Despite California's passage in 1996 of Proposition 215, which allows patients with a valid doctor's recommendation to grow and possess marijuana for personal medical use, the federal government classifies marijuana as an illicit drug with no medical use and has closed pot clubs and prosecuted suppliers. Thirteen other states have passed similar measures legalizing medical marijuana.

Proponents of medical marijuana see Wednesday's news as the turning of the tide for what they hope would become federal acceptance of pot's therapeutic benefits.

A first step

"This is the first step in approaching the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), which has invested absolutely nothing in providing scientific data to resolve the debate," said state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who noted that marijuana showed benefits throughout the AIDS epidemic in helping people afflicted with neuropathy and other ailments.

Dale Gieringer, a Berkeley resident who is executive director of the California branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, agreed.

"This is finally the evidence that shows that the (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) stance that marijuana does not have medical use is just wrong," he said. "It's time for the Obama administration to act."

During the study, volunteers were randomly given marijuana or placebos.

The marijuana was obtained through the University of Mississippi, which has a contract with the federal government to provide the only pot that can be used for scientific research. Grant said the research required heavy federal oversight.

Long-term issues

He noted volunteers had the same amount of pain reduction with low doses of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, compared with high doses of THC. He also said evidence casts doubt on long-term negative impacts of marijuana use, while acknowledging there have not been formal studies on the question.

"There is not very strong evidence that marijuana, for example, produces emphysema or lung cancer or permanent brain damage," Grant said.

That doesn't mean marijuana is harmless, he said. "Anything you smoke in a combustible form has potential risks, but the safety profile seems to be better for it than some other drugs like tobacco," he said.

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research has approved 15 clinical studies, five of which were completed and reported Wednesday, and two are in progress. While researchers said more studies are needed, the future of the center is in doubt.

The center has spent all but $400,000 of the $8.9 million in research funding it started with in 1999. Leno said the state doesn't have the money to continue funding it.

"It may be close to the end of its life unless there's foundation money to continue the work," Leno said.

E-mail the writers at vcolliver@sfchronicle.com and wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/18/MNRF1C3964.DTL

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

© 2010 Hearst Communications Inc.

I am planning a press conference in Vandalia, IL on Oct 5th, and a local business there is allowing me to set up a table, get petitions signed, and pass out literature to patrons and outside the establishment as well. I have also secured space in another business, located in Salem, IL, willing to do the same. Planning to host a screening of the movie "Waiting to Inhale".

Seeking other So IL Supporters to help me pull all this off! If interested, please give me a shout! Thanx so much!!

Carol Suttles Kerr

carolinacrazy4u@yahoo.com

(u can find me on fb too!)

To whom it may concern. I want this here for public record. I am one of the original 5 children that the Iowa 1979 marijuana bill was written for and possibly one of the longest “legal” users of medical cannabis. This fore mentioned bill was written to protect these same five children for life, I call it a “compassion law”. 2 of them died using the pill form. I know the other boy and I lived due to this prescription. I am unsure though if he is still alive today. We were cancer prone our bodies could not stop cancer production on it’s own. One of the cannabinoids was found to stop cancer production and in this first study they learned cannabis was a neuro-protectant and antioxidant. I am in full support of this bill being expanded but demand to be grand fathered in under my current rights per the 1979 bill. What you are offering is less then we were protected for. This 1979 bill was to protect us for life not until you decided to rewrite it. I think it is wonderful Iowans are waking up to realize this is a viable treatment. I have been in cancer studies for over 30 years. When I was 14 my spleen was taken out due to cancer I really have no filtering system or immune system. However the cannabis replaced this on a constant basis and why I am still alive today. This is why I lived and Aids people die from just a weakened immune system. Should you change this bill and diminish my rights in anyway, you will force me to die, which this 1979 law protected from happening. I request any legislator who works on this topic to contact me via email to open a dialogue on this topic to ensure my rights are grand fathered and any new individual rights are fully protected from change under the current bill, and the boy/man who may also still be alive to protect his rights at the same time. We had freedom which you may seek to regulate. I at the same time will not give up my current rights so you can regulate others. This is sad to me that you would change the freedom that was given and realized at that time was necessary for those with cancer and other diseases to sustain their life while they heal and in fact to assist with the healing process. I will fight this bill on all levels if I am not grand fathered in. I think it amazing you want to open it up to ensure others gain the same benefits however not at the risk of eliminating or regulating those who came before and this bill protected from such actions. I carry my medical record on this in my purse at all times to protect me. Should you seek to take my right away I will also indeed fight you as that bill protected this from happening until we five children were dead. This has been a family secret for almost 30 years and I am of sorts coming out of the closet to speak out on this topic. I am in full support of a compassion law for cannabis medical use with a grandfather clause… I feel since this bill was originally written for us five children we/I should have some say in this, we understand fully what rights are needed to ensure protection from this bill as well as what freedoms are required to ensure our prescription could be maintained. If you are seeking to change this bill in anyway, which is indeed my personal protection I want to ensure all Iowans are properly protected in this bill, since I am one of the few individuals that fully understand what that may look like. I am willing to even open up my medical records as proof of my statements on this important topic. I believe it should be legalized under the right conditions for medical use and have solid reasoning and proof for this position in which I medical records support this decision. I will make myself available for questions on this important topic as these individuals rights should be protected by specific wording. DrRevLynn@aol.com